Jimmy Carter was president for four years, but his new book is based on a role that he's held for nearly 70 years: Sunday school teacher. Through the Year with Jimmy Carter: 366 Daily Meditations from the 39th President, offers…
Churches engage Occupy movement
WASHINGTON (RNS) — As Occupy camps nationwide deal with police crackdowns and the inevitable onset of winter temperatures, religious communities of all stripes are stepping in with offers of shelter and solidarity, say church leaders and protest organizers. Soon after…
What would Jesus occupy?
LONDON (RNS) — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says Jesus would have joined protesters from the anti-corporate Occupy movement who have been camped outside London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral for more than seven weeks. Protesters have been camped outside St. Paul's…
Religious lobbyists spend $400 million a year in D.C.
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The number of religious advocacy groups in the nation’s capital has more than tripled since the 1970s, with conservative groups seeing the biggest growth, according to a new report. Together, faith-based lobbying and advocacy groups spend $390…
Subtle shift at fundamentalist bastion
GREENVILLE, S.C. (RNS) — When Bob Jones III recently questioned whether President Obama is a Christian, it was a reminder not only that the fundamentalist leader is controversial but also how little the political world has heard from the man…
‘Doing interfaith’ in a musical way
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — Say the word “interfaith” and the next word to roll off the tongue is probably “dialogue.” It’s hard to think of one without the other. But college students know there are other ways to communicate, and…
On religious campuses, atheists operate underground
DAYTON, Ohio (RNS) — Late one night over pizza, University of Dayton students Branden King and Nick Haynes discovered neither of them believed in God. Surely, they thought, they couldn’t be the only unbelievers at the Roman Catholic college. Last…
Apple guru’s spirituality an open book
WASHINGTON (RNS) — He considered moving to a Zen monastery before shifting his sights to Silicon Valley, where he became a brash businessman. He preached about the dangers of desire but urged consumers to covet every new iPhone incarnation. “He…
St. Paul’s reopens, protesters evicted
LONDON (RNS) — London’s historic St. Paul’s Cathedral reopened its doors to visitors Oct. 28 for the first time in a week, as authorities moved to evict hundreds of camped-out protesters. St. Paul's was closed for the first time since…